Mid-career professionals- Do you know WHY are you doing what you are doing

?Do you know WHY are you doing what you are doing??

Amar was just a senior software engineer when Gaurav joined as his manager 5 years ago, Amar being an excellent coder, analyzer, and architect by nature, thoroughly enjoyed his work throughout. He was there everywhere, his name was in everyone’s mouth, Gaurav was amazed to see the popularity of his team member across the organization and the way he was enjoying the job. He was available 24X7 and almost 365 days. The major complaint Gaurav had was, Amar overstretching his timing and how it was impacting other team members.

Amar was raised to the ranks of Architect, Senior Architect which is 4 levels above Senior software engineer within the time frame of 5 years. Gaurav being a humble manager gave all the opportunities to Amar. However, Amar was by himself creating his world, and Gaurav observed the same energy, enthusiasm, enjoying even after he got promoted to a mid-senior technical role. He was same available 24X7 and almost 365 days and Gaurav had the same major complaint that Amar was overstretching his timing and how it is impacting other team members. Amar wasn’t bothered about what Gaurav was suggesting, he was like that before, and he thought he will be the same in future which he was enjoying.

Amar did not have any visibility issues among stakeholders, he was crushing every meeting, webinar, and presentation. He was the person who was aiding top officials with their big demos. Then came the organizational expectations for mid-senior architects to either present a paper at an international forum, publish articles, innovate etc.

Did Amar take up this challenge, which was slightly different from what he was already doing great? What made Amar a successful employee so far and would the challenges thrown at him will be dealt with successfully by Amar?

?Amar's “Why” was to be a “world-class coder, give quick and efficient solutions, enjoy the whole process “, His “Why” was aligned with his core interests right from his college days. This “Why” was giving him enough of an adrenaline rush to his work without much of challenges. He was not bothered about what his manager thought, what people thought, and what the organization ask for. His values, efforts, and vision are all aligned with his “Why” and that’s where he was successful.

For the challenge given to Amar, he thought it is aligned with his “Why” and he made so many proposals, presented papers, and published articles.?He naturally innovated a lot of good features in the product.

Not everyone (in fact most of them) will be like Amar whose “Why” is clear and 100% committed to it. Some might be clear about their “Why” but fade over time, switch their job roles, try out new ones, etc. It is very important to evaluate whenever there is a shift in our interests, change in our happiness etc.

We must give a meaningful career life and enjoy the process every day with utmost satisfaction, here are some of the tips to get your “Why” and check if it helps you.

??Identify your core values:

Reflect on the values that are most important to you. These could be things like creativity, helping others, autonomy, continuous learning, making a difference, or any other values that resonate with you. Write down your top values and consider how they align with your current work or career path.

??Ask yourself meaningful questions: Ask some deep self-reflection questions.

·?????What impact do I want to have on the world?

·?????What kind of work would make me excited to get up in the morning?

·?????What are my strengths and how can I leverage them to make a difference?

·?????What issues or causes, I am more passionate about??

??Experiment and explore: Do you know when your “Why” will become clearer? When you take consistent actions aligning with your “Why”. Try new projects, and activities, and volunteer in the areas where you are happy.?In Amar’s case, he was either fortunate or he turned his fortune by his strong will of “Why” to become successful.

Experimentation allows you to learn more about yourself and what resonates with you.

??Pay attention to your emotions: Journaling every day is a very good practice, try to take note of how you feel during various activities or projects. Which one energizes you or motivates you and at the same time which work is draining you or making you unfulfilled?

This exercise will give you some signs and clarity about your “Why”.

?Define your “Why” statement: Based on your reflections, explorations, and experimentation, define your statement that encapsulated your “why”. The statement should articulate the impact you want to make and the values you want to embody through your work.

??Craft your mission statement, some of the statements for reference?

"I am motivated by the power of collaboration and teamwork. My why is to create software that fosters seamless communication facilitates collaboration, and enables individuals and teams to work together effectively, regardless of geographical or organizational boundaries."

"I am driven by a deep sense of curiosity and a desire to simplify complexity. My why is to develop intuitive software that brings simplicity and elegance to complex problems, making technology accessible and empowering users to achieve more."

In Amar’s case the “Why” was loud, clear, and consistent, however, over a period as we gain experience, we may redefine our “Why’s, so it may be a continuous process to evaluate your “Why”.

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